Should I start a career in VFX?
Posted in: Beginners TalkLong time lurker, I would love your feedback.
I’m 24 years old and I want to direct sci-fi/fantasy feature films one day. I am working on developing my portfolio as a commercial and music video director but while I do that I need something that can pay the rent and keep me fed.
I’ve limited my options down to three, VFX Artist (Lighter/Compositor, working my way up to VFX Supervisor), Animator (Working up to Directing Animator or Supervising Animator) and Editor (Working up to Editor of major features).
My questions are:
1) Which of the above career paths is best for me to work on, that will best transition me to directing? I know a lot of Animators (Andrew Stanton, Pete Doctor, Shane Acker), VFX Supervisors (Tim Miller, Eric Brevig, Neil Blomkamp) and a few editors (The Coen Brothers). Is any one better for the type of films I want to make?
2) Are any one of those disciplines better for me to learn in order to make the type of films I want to make?
3) Are any one of those careers easier or harder to advance? Are any of them far more competitive than the others?
I realize that if I want to direct I need to go out and direct, and I am doing that. But, until I get paid to direct, I need something that I enjoy doing and I enjoy all three of these.
Just looking for some feedback from the community. 🙂